My title for this devotion is Grace: Old vs New.
We don’t sing the song Amazing Grace how sweet the sound for nothing. Grace really is amazing. I know for me understanding grace was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” on legalism that ruled my life.
But we tend to think of grace as a NT thing. So it is sometimes surprising to us when we realize there is tons of grace in the OT. Take, for example, the story of Abraham and Sarah; then Isaac and Rebecca; then Jacob and Esau. Abraham and Sarah waited 40 years for the fulfillment of God’s promise. Sarah thought she could help God along. Abraham was 140 when Isaac married Rebecca and she was barren. Isaac prayed and twins were born. But talk about family dysfunction! Isaac liked Esau; Rebecca favored Jacob. Jacob was a conniver; Esau disregarded his oldest son status. Jacob ran away from the comfort of the tents to live under the stars. He laid down his heard on a stone and ended up making a bargain with God. That is just the beginning of the grace stories in the OT.
The very fact God had not stepped in to slap a few on the back of the head with a huge “God slap” shows His patience. It also shows His grace. As Iain Wright says, “God is always better than we can imagine.”
I’m glad. I deserve more than just a “God slap.” I deserve a “God smack down.” Not just once, but over and over. I’m thankful for God’s display of grace in the OT and the NT. But I’m especially grateful for grace today-2019. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
“Father, thank you for showing grace in the OT; the NT; and especially today…to me. I’m singing (off key) ‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound.’ “
That’s the continuing theme in the Bible. People and nations keep screwing up and God keeps on forgiving, granting “unmerited favor” at every turn.
I too deserve the beat down… but instead I get loving grace. Amazing is just the tip of eternity.
You are right Floyd. It is the continuing theme. I am personally glad I get loving grace.
Good point, Bill, about the OT. Rarely do you hear that preached. Thank you.
What you state is true Diane. Sad but true.
Amazing Grace… It is such a sweet sound!
I can hear the song being sung over and over.
Amazing Grace, amazing love, amazing mercy from an amazing God, Father, Savior. And I know I don’t even begin to have a clue as to the depth of that amazing that takes my broken and anyone else who allows Him and turns it into His glory and transformation. My prayer is that He would teach, and use me to be His hands and feet to extend that same grace, love and mercy to everyone I know and interact /rub shoulders with. That it would be an overflow.
grace, love and mercy for sure Crystal. What an amazing God we serve. And extending it to others would be the only way to go. Thanks for coming by. Hope your new year is shaping up well.
God, and His amazing grace, are always greater than we could ever imagine. I deserve a God smack, too, but I’m so glad He chooses to love me instead.
Blessings, Bill!
So right martha. I’m going to adopt that little phrase “so much more than we can imagine.”
There are times I really do think that God smacks us on the head. I’m just too stubborn in my old age for Him not to. But the more He does, the more our eyes open up, as well as our senses… I mean we tend to get in a spot when we know that smack is coming…
But God is sooo patient with us! God is a lot of things, but patient and longsuffering must be at the top of the list!